The Ultimate Showdown: World Cup 2026 to Feature 48 Teams, 104 Matches.

The world’s most popular sporting event, the FIFA World Cup is set to undergo a massive expansion in 2026 with 48 Teams from 32 and matches from 64 to 104 around the globe.

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This will provide a more exciting and dramatic soccer for funs worldwide.

The decision to grow from 64 to 104 matches rather than the 80 originally planned in 2026 is due to come at a meeting of the governing body's ruling council in Kigali, Rwanda.

It has been revealed that adding matches helps FIFA chase its target of more than £9bn in revenue but it also solves format issues

Adding matches helps FIFA chase its target of more than £9bn in revenue but it also solves format issues for the event being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Rather than having 16 groups each featuring three teams, FIFA will have 12 groups each with four countries, sources say.

  The combined number of rest, release and tournament days remains the same as previous World Cups in 2010, 2014 and 2018 - 56 days.The top two teams will advance to a round of 32 with the eight best third-placed teams.

This means that teams reaching the final will now have to play eight matches, rather than the seven played by Qatar 2022 finalists Argentina and France.The suggestion will be officially approved after the FIFA Council meeting in Rwanda.

The United States, Canada, and Mexico are all set to jointly host the prestigious FIFA World Cup 2026 with Canada hosting it for the very first time.